


Breathtaking

by Avistella



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 21:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16668286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avistella/pseuds/Avistella
Summary: Ignis and Io go shopping in Altissia.





	Breathtaking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zetsubou--artsu@Tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=zetsubou--artsu%40Tumblr).



> My part of a trade with [zetsubou–artsu@/Tumblr](http://zetsubou--artsu.tumblr.com/).

A collective sigh of relief is heard from Noctis and his group as they finally enter Altissia. As nice as the sea breeze feels on their skin with the lull of the waves underneath them, it feels good to be back on land, especially on one so breathtaking in sight.

“Noct, a moment?” Ignis speaks up, and even though the royal advisor was meant to address the prince, the other three members of the party end up gathering around him as well out of curiosity.

“Yeah?” Noctis asks with a tired breath. He wants nothing more than to find a place to rest at after such a long journey, both literally and figuratively.

Ignis pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose to adjust them. “We’re running short on curatives. I suggest stocking up on them while we have the chance in case of emergencies.”

The royal heir does little to hide his yawn behind his hand. “You go do that,” he replies, turning on his heel and dismissing his advisor with a casual wave as he takes his leave.

Ignis directs his attention towards Gladio and Prompto, but the two flash him apologetic looks as they give their own reasons as to why they’d rather do something else than accompany him. Ignis’ shoulders rise and fall with a heavy sigh of reluctant defeat before he feels a gentle and caring hand on his arm.

“I can come with you if you’d like,” Io offers with a smile that reaches her eyes.

The young man mirrors her expression, though his is laced with some relief that he doesn’t have to do all the shopping by himself. Of course he’s perfectly capable of doing it, but company is always nice to have. “I’d appreciate it.”

The group then goes on their separate ways with Io sticking by Ignis’ side. The Pacem princess rocks between the balls and heels of her feet, hands laced neatly together behind her back as Ignis goes through a mental checklist of what they need to buy. Her eyes glance around to take in the sights of Altissia, and her heart flutters at how beautiful everything looks. An idle thought of how perfect it would be to have a date in this place goes through her mind before Ignis’ voice rings in her ears and brings her back to the present.

“Shall we head on our way?”

Io’s lips curl into a smile. “Yeah.”

* * *

Both the princess and advisor start walking through the busy and narrow streets of Altissia. Without even realizing it, the two have fallen into a steady rhythm of matching each other’s footsteps, and they walk side-by-side in a comfortable silence. Every so often, their arms and shoulders would brush against one another’s, but neither of the two take the initiative to link themselves together.

In her attempt to stop herself from accidentally bumping herself into someone, Io shifts herself over but gets her foot caught in a crack, and she stumbles for a second. Ignis is quick to act, his hand shooting out to hold hers and keep her steady.

A nervous laugh clumsily tumbles out from the woman. “Thanks…”

The advisor hums in response, a hint of amusement tinged in his tone. Io’s eyes glance down at their connected hands, and she waits for Ignis to let go, but to her embarrassed surprise, he instead laces their fingers together and gently tugs her closer towards him, wordlessly resuming on their way.

Surprisingly enough, the two are able to find the shops they needed to go with relative ease with Ignis guiding them. He still hasn’t let go of the princess’ hand, but she isn’t complaining, and neither is he.

“We seem to be making quick time on our errand,” the young man comments as he notes the sun being still high up in the sky.

“Well, it _is_ you,” Io answers with a tone like it’s supposed to mean something, her voice playful.

Ignis chuckles. “I suppose so. If you were the one in charge, we’d probably still be missing more than half of what we need,” he quips.

The Pacem princess raises an eyebrow at that, her features turning into a small smirk of sorts. “Is that a challenge?”

Ignis says nothing, but his smile widens by just a fraction which is more than enough to have Io take it upon herself to prove herself capable. With a determined huff, she tightens her grip on Ignis’ hand and starts to lead him to the next location.

…Or so she thinks, and the royal retainer says nothing about how Io is going the wrong way. He trails behind her in an easy pace, a certain teasing and entertained look dancing behind his eyes as Io takes several wrong turns, winding her way through various narrow alleys in a stumbling attempt to reach their destination. Ignis can’t blame her, though. The capital of Accordo is a confusing maze of streets, stairs, canals, and so forth. It’s quite different from Lucis.

“…I’m lost,” the woman finally admits with a meek tone, bowing her head down.

Ignis reassuringly squeezes her hand in a gentle manner, prompting her to glance up at him through her lashes. He gestures towards an open cafe nearby.

“Shall we take a break?” he suggests, and Io agrees with a nod of her head.

The two of them make themselves comfortable at one of the tables, their respective drinks and orders placed in front of them. A comfortable silence stretches over as they allow themselves to rest from all that walking.

Io shifts in her seat, and her foot ends up accidentally bumping into Ignis’ underneath the table. “Sorry,” she apologizes, and she’s about to move her foot away when she feels the young man in front of her nudge it with his own foot.

A beat passes, and Io laughs with merriment before she nudges back. Ignis follows suit, and it isn’t long before the two are playing footsies with each other and overall enjoying themselves as they talk about anything and everything while finishing up their snacks.

By the time the pair have finished with the last sip of their drinks, the sun has already started to set, painting the sky with beautiful shades of warm and cool colours blended together. Although there’s still a couple more of items that they need to buy, they both decide to retire for the meantime and pick up where they left off tomorrow morning.

“Let’s take a leisure ride on the gondola to get a better lay of the land before meeting up with the others,” Ignis offers with a slight curve of his lips, and Io almost wants to smack herself when she realizes.

“We were supposed to take a gondola to get to the shop, weren’t we?” she asks, although she’s already aware of what the answer is.

“At least now you know,” the young man chuckles, and the princess rolls her eyes with pink-tinted cheeks at her mistake.

Nevertheless, she takes Ignis up on his offer. Like a gentleman, he offers the princess his hand which she delicately takes, her heart thumping against her chest as he smoothly helps her into the gondola and sit across from each other.

Although their intention was to get a better understanding of the layout of Altissia, both Ignis and Io are unable to tear their gaze away from each other. In their eyes, the capital’s beauty paled in comparison to how the other looked with the setting sun as the backdrop, a pleased smile painted on their faces and love in their eyes.


End file.
